I have a question regarding the size of certain framing members for a treehouse I’ll be building soon. It will be a classic 4 tree design (well really 3 trees and a post) with the approximate dimensions of 10′ by 7′. The trees are located at each corner. The house portion will be framed with 2x4s and sided with T1-11. The decking is 3/4″ pressure treated plywood. The roof is going to be corrugated metal roofing (hey, its cheap). My orginal plan was to use two each 2x10s running on the long sides and use 2x8s on joist hangers between them spaced 16″ oc. Is this overkill? An alternate plan would use one each 2×12 on the long sides and end nail 2x6s joists across (still 16″ oc). Any ideas…
Thanks, David
Replies
My kids wouldn't be on a pressure treated floor.
I never built a treehouse or fort of any kind out of anything but scrap. The idea of having two matching pieces of lumber never occured to any of us, let alone pairs of 2x10s, so can't help with the engineering. Seems overly complicated from here.........Joe H
He didn't say how many kids he's got or how much they weigh; it may not be overkill. I am seriously a fan of overbuilding. I am scheduled to fix a bath where one lady's son stepped through the floor. He's 14 and weighs over 300#, and his dad's even bigger! It made a 16"x22" hole in the floor between toilet and tub. Would hate to build him a tree house without some serious structure.
(yeah, there's other problems there too, mostly water draining off the tub that is canted outward)
When I was a kid, we built it ourselves and from scratch and scraps. I need to go traipse around the woods here and see if any signs of my youth are still there. (if there are enough of the woods left since it's been over 30 years)
I'm guessing that you have not seen the HD ad on building a treehouse.
Maybe you should just try them, they give expert advise on everthing.....;-)
I end up giving more answers than getting at the big boxes most of the time. There are a few guys there from the trades, but very few. I HATE dealing with the knobs and hinges folks at the local (I won't say which store since I'm there alot). He doesn't know squat!
Edited 9/26/2002 6:57:37 PM ET by Wilburn Hancock
The kids are small, a 6 yr old and a 3 yr old, 50 and 30 lbs each. So not much of a load from the regular users, however I weigh in at 275 and my father-in-law is larger still (we're building it at his place). Additionally the location of the house could make it a popular place with a teenage niece and her friends.
Regarding the scrap comments. I too built a tree house on a vacant lot when I was a kid. More like a pallet nailed in a tree a dozen feet up or so. But that was many years ago. There are several reasons why I want to build an decent looking and safe treehouse: 1) The tree house is located in a prominent location at the out-laws house and I don't want to put up an eyesore there, and 2) the kids are too young to build their own, but they still need a place to play when visiting the Grandparents.
Another comment regarding why ask for advice here rather than at HD (or Lowes). I thought it would be best to seek the opinions of those who have built houses rather than those who just sell the stuff. You can get good advice there, but you can also get poor advice just as easy. BTW, the commerical that HD is running on the tree-house caused this project to come about as my daughter saw it and thought it would be neat to have a tree house. I agreed with her...
Thanks for all your comments, send more if you have them...
I would definitely NOT end nail the floor joists with 16s. The trees will move and sway with wind. It won't take long to loosen those nails and let the floor system fall apart. I would run the floor joists across the top of the end beams. That way gravity will help hold it together regardless of the fastening method or tree movement.Excellence is its own reward!
works for me, remember, I am Mr. OverBuildIt! Sounds like fun for you guys, I'd still try to let the little guys do something. I was building 'paint by numbers' play fort unit for a client and it was nice to figure out what couple things I could let the little guys do so they could say they helped. I was there a few weeks ago and heard the 6 yo tell his friend the he built the sand box part they were playing in at the time.
Edited 9/27/2002 1:14:41 PM ET by Wilburn Hancock
Be sure your kids don't see FHB 145, March 2002, Page 110. The "Castles in the Air" thing. I showed a client that when discussing the platform her husband built and what SHE really wanted out there.. I just hope his wallet matches her eyes!
"Home Tree Home: Principles of Treehouse Construction and Other Tall Tales and The Treehouse Book, both by Peter Nelson give a lot of design ideas and some tech info. Amazon has got them. A friend's house (Gus Gunther, Kasilof Alaska) is featured in several of Nelson's books. Yes, he does live year-round in his treehouse, even at -40F. Gus helped me build my son's treehouse. Used a 2x12 one each side of two big, 14-foot-tall stumps and 2x4 joists over that. Secured to the 2x12s with Simpson H-2 hold-downs. I used ACX and put a natural oil finish on the inside surface.
2x8s on 16s to span 7 feet? Yes, that is overkill. If you are never going to put a fridge or hot tub in it :-), 2x4s on 16s would work but be a a bit bouncy. 2x6s on 16s or 24s would be great. On 16" centers would give a flatter floor.
Suggestion: Build square! It does take away some of the kid-built look to it, but it makes flooring, sheathing, etc so much easier. I like to pre-assembly entire walls and then lift them into place. If you can figure out the lifting, it saves a lot of high work on the ladder - nailing off the sheathing, window trim etc. Nelson describes that option in several of the case studies.
I always thought the point of a treehouse was no parental involvement. I didn't care if it was square or leaked rain and I sure wasn't trying for "Homes Beautiful" when i built them. All I cared about was that I built it the way I thought it should be built with stuff I scrounged.
Ditto.
I remember hauling 4x8 sheets of cast-off plywood up 15 feet with a rope and dropping it about a whole bunch of times. Same with the bucket of tools.
When we were done, though, it was on three levels of an oak that must have been 5 feet in diameter. Levels ranged from 10 feet on up to about 16 feet above ground. More like a tree stand than a house, only one level was semi weatherproof.
2x12 long sides with 2x6 joists end nailed and sitting on a 2x4 ledger. If your liking the security of overkill for the kids sake add joist hangers.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
To me the only treehouse that's built wrong is the one that you never get around to building before the kids grow up and move out.
It doesn't matter a lot if it's built with scraps of lumber, pallets, or all new lumber. The fact that it exists at all is more important than how it was built.
One thing comes to mind - When I built a playhouse for my boys, it was awfully dark inside. After I had the roof on I ended up adding a couple of skylights just to get some light in. Found a couple of old ones at a lumberyard for $5 each, and it really helped.
Also got a small window and stuck it in a back wall. They used it to play "McDonald's drive through". Guess that would kinda be tough with a treehouse, though.............(-:
Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to.
Questions in regards to treehouse construction:
1) what do you 'nail' the framing to the tree with, bolts? Is it proven they won't hurt the tree?
2) Since it's up in the air and won't be sitting on water, does the support framing need to be pressure treated?
Steve
Boooooo!!!
see my probably lost thread about treehouses to figure out why....
And.....I doubt that +300lb kid is gonna climb up into a tree house!
Jeff
.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
The only trouble I ever experienced with a treehouse is when my cousin burned it down. It was an accident of course. Fire supression is probably overkill but I would consider how safe the egress is to a scared child.
Just a thought.
dl
You could put ceramic roofing tile up there...
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
Hope you get to enjoy it before the local party-poopers make you tear it down.